'Very Dangerous': Trump Gives Racist Steve Bannon More Power
He clashed with former DNI James Clapper and was ultimately driven out of his post as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. The move to promote Bannon to the council also diminished the positions of the military and intelligence leadership in the group.

Malaysia manufacturing PMI highest in 20 months: Nikkei
The index for new export orders was 53.1, just below a preliminary 53.2 but still indicating the fastest gain in 12 months. A PMI measures changes in activity levels across China's manufacturing sector from one month to the next.

Ayew Brothers take Ghana into Semi-Finals
Thanks to the Ayew brothers who got a goal each to ensure the Avram Grant tutored side advance to the last four. The second half however saw Ghana playing with more intent as the game swung from the Congolese side.

Celebrating Chinese New Year in Guam
Not everyone that comes in knows about it, but once they leave, they do and they can feel the Chinese New Year.. The Chinese Zodiac cycle associates every year with an animal and this year is the Year of the Rooster.

Prouds Celebrate Year of the Rooster
The streets of Newport will be transformed with more than 50 stalls to celebrate Chinese New Year. Generations past would celebrate the new year as a time of rest before the farm season begins.

Senate GOPers Suspend Rules To Approve EPA Nominee Without Dems

While Democrats expressed their disapproval, Republican lawmakers took the extraordinary step of suspending committee rules and voted (10-0) to advance Pruitt's nomination.

The committee's full roster of Republicans - including Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), boycotted the scheduled committee votes on Wednesday and Thursday, saying Pruitt had not adequately answered their questions.

The procedural rules of the Senate committee allow for a change to or suspension of those rules "by vote of a majority of committee members at a business meeting if a quorum is present".

The Senate EPW Committee has legislative jurisdiction over EPA, including nominations subject to Senate confirmation.

Democrats have opposed Priutt since President Donald Trump nominated him in December.

The committee's move comes a day after Republicans used similar tactics to advance the nominations of Trump's treasury nominee, Steven Mnuchin, and his selection for health and human services secretary, Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.).

Veteran Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) explained the new, bolder Republican attitude: "We took some unprecedented actions today due to the unprecedented obstruction on the part of our colleagues".

"The minority has put us in this, unchartered waters". "The nation needs a new EPA administrator". Barrassosaid that was different, because a president deserves special treatment for his first Cabinet.

"The committee Democrats are deeply concerned about the lack of thoroughness of Mr. Pruitt's responses to our questions for the record", Delaware Sen.

But Pruitt offered no plans for how his EPA would go about regulating pollutants under his banner of "cooperative federalism", leaving many Democrats skeptical that his agency would do more than simply cut EPA rules. The AG's office says its environmental work continued under a different unit, but court records and financial data suggest environmental enforcement has not been a top priority for Pruitt. Tillerson's confirmation was set back more than a week when Democrats insisted on a preliminary vote ahead of final confirmation, and did so after having invoked a rule that delays a floor votes on a nominee. "1,200 questions. He answered over 1,000 more questions than the EPA administrator nominees for the incoming Obama, Bush and Clinton administrations", Barrasso said.

During Pruitt's six-hour confirmation hearing before the committee January 18, Democrats cited Pruitt's campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry and his 14 lawsuits against EPA as attorney general.